Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Monday revealed that six rocket launchers were among the weapons to have gone missing from the Defence Force over the last year.
Sisulu replied in writing to a parliamentary question from a Freedom Front Plus (FFP) MP who has called into question measures to secure weaponry in the military arsenal.
Sisulu said that 20 rifles and five nine millimetre rifles have also disappeared and an additional five mortars were reported missing last year.
Source: Eye Witness News
Showing posts with label Freedom Front Plus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom Front Plus. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Land minister's Zim references criticised
A warning by Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti that commercial farmers must cooperate to avoid a situation in South Africa "worse than Zimbabwe" drew sharp reaction from agricultural union TAU-SA and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) on Tuesday. Nkwinti's remarks, reportedly made during an interview with eNews on Monday, were "irresponsible", the union's president, Ben Marais, said in a statement. "We see Minister Nkwinti's remarks as an ill-camouflaged threat to farmers that their land can be occupied the Zimbabwe way if they are not prepared to give their land away. TAU-SA regards this as a subtle given command to militants to occupy land to intimidate farmers," he said.
Marais questioned why the government wanted more land. "They had to admit several times that most of the land-reform projects have failed totally... grabbing land in the Zimbabwe way will also lead to farms going unproductive and food security [being] threatened." Marais said that given the "loaded situation" in the country, statements such as Nkwinti's should not be permissible. He called on Nkwinti to apologise, or for his remark to be repudiated by President Jacob Zuma.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the FF+ also labelled Nkwinti's reference to Zimbabwe irresponsible. "The farmers have been cooperating for a long time already, but it is the government and its incompetent officials who do not cooperate. "The fact that Nkwinti shares the views of black South Africans -- that land has to be nationalised -- is in contrast with what he said last week in Parliament. Nkwinti therefore speaks with a forked tongue," FF+ land-reform spokesperson Pieter Groenewald said.
The minister's remark created the impression that he "subconsciously encourages" Zimbabwean-type land reforms. This, he cautioned, was "not in the interest of anybody in South Africa".
Later on Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance called on the government to clarify what it called "conflicting statements" on the land issue. In a statement, DA land-reform spokesperson Mpowele Swathe said that Nkwinti, in the interview on Monday, had "actively endorsed plans to nationalise farmland". But last week, his deputy, Joe Phaahla, had said all the department wanted to do was come up with a model for land reform, and it had no intention to nationalise land. "Is a plan to nationalise farmland on the cards or not? This isn't a game. It goes to the heart of our economy and its best financial management. "Being inconsistent or unclear on such a fundamental issue is like the Treasury vaguely suggesting pegging the currency against the Zimbabwean dollar," he said.
Placing control of this entire economic sector in the hands of the state could have the effect of destroying it, Swathe warned.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Marais questioned why the government wanted more land. "They had to admit several times that most of the land-reform projects have failed totally... grabbing land in the Zimbabwe way will also lead to farms going unproductive and food security [being] threatened." Marais said that given the "loaded situation" in the country, statements such as Nkwinti's should not be permissible. He called on Nkwinti to apologise, or for his remark to be repudiated by President Jacob Zuma.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the FF+ also labelled Nkwinti's reference to Zimbabwe irresponsible. "The farmers have been cooperating for a long time already, but it is the government and its incompetent officials who do not cooperate. "The fact that Nkwinti shares the views of black South Africans -- that land has to be nationalised -- is in contrast with what he said last week in Parliament. Nkwinti therefore speaks with a forked tongue," FF+ land-reform spokesperson Pieter Groenewald said.
The minister's remark created the impression that he "subconsciously encourages" Zimbabwean-type land reforms. This, he cautioned, was "not in the interest of anybody in South Africa".
Later on Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance called on the government to clarify what it called "conflicting statements" on the land issue. In a statement, DA land-reform spokesperson Mpowele Swathe said that Nkwinti, in the interview on Monday, had "actively endorsed plans to nationalise farmland". But last week, his deputy, Joe Phaahla, had said all the department wanted to do was come up with a model for land reform, and it had no intention to nationalise land. "Is a plan to nationalise farmland on the cards or not? This isn't a game. It goes to the heart of our economy and its best financial management. "Being inconsistent or unclear on such a fundamental issue is like the Treasury vaguely suggesting pegging the currency against the Zimbabwean dollar," he said.
Placing control of this entire economic sector in the hands of the state could have the effect of destroying it, Swathe warned.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Saturday, March 27, 2010
ANC to challenge 'shoot the boer' ban
A high-court ban on the words "shoot the boer" was met with mixed reaction on Friday. While the African National Congress was shocked at the ruling and vowed to challenge it in the Constitutional Court, the Afrikanerbond and Freedom Front Plus welcomed it.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday that the Johannesburg High Court had ruled the use of the words "dubul' ibhunu [shoot the boer]" was unconstitutional and unlawful. Delmas businessman Willem Harmse had applied for an urgent interdict to prevent his colleague Mahomed Vawda from using the words on banners and singing them during a planned march against crime. While Harmse argued that the words perpetuated hate speech and incited hatred, Vawda contended that they referred to the symbolic killing of apartheid.
The ANC, which reportedly intends appealing against the judgement, expressed astonishment at the court's failure to approach it for input on the history and purpose of the struggle song Ayesaba Amagwala [The Cowards are Scared]. The song's lyrics include the words: "aw dubul' ibhunu [shoot the boer] 'a magwala [the cowards are scared] dubula dubula [shoot shoot]". The ANC believed that, had its input been sought, the court would have reached a different conclusion. Earlier this month, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe cautioned against "systematically erasing history", and said the interpretation of the song had been "vulgarised". "It's an old struggle song. Anybody who relegates it into hate speech today ... I will regard that as a serious attempt to erase our history. If you try to erase the history through courts, that would be unfortunate to the country."
Complaints have recently been laid against ANC Youth League president Julius Malema with the Equality Court and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over his repeated singing of the song in public. The Freedom Front Plus viewed the ANC's contention that the words be seen in the struggle context as "totally unacceptable". "Mr Malema was nine-years-old when [former president Nelson] Mandela was freed. He was never really part of the 'struggle'. If he sang the song today, it has to be judged in the context of 2010 and the fact that farmers are being killed weekly," the party said in a statement.
The Afrikanerbond now wants the SAHRC to decide whether the song constitutes incitement to violence and hate speech. Its chief secretary Jan Bosman said it hoped the ruling was "a first step in forcing politicians to think about pronouncements that create the potential for conflict".
Source: Mail & Guardian
The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday that the Johannesburg High Court had ruled the use of the words "dubul' ibhunu [shoot the boer]" was unconstitutional and unlawful. Delmas businessman Willem Harmse had applied for an urgent interdict to prevent his colleague Mahomed Vawda from using the words on banners and singing them during a planned march against crime. While Harmse argued that the words perpetuated hate speech and incited hatred, Vawda contended that they referred to the symbolic killing of apartheid.
The ANC, which reportedly intends appealing against the judgement, expressed astonishment at the court's failure to approach it for input on the history and purpose of the struggle song Ayesaba Amagwala [The Cowards are Scared]. The song's lyrics include the words: "aw dubul' ibhunu [shoot the boer] 'a magwala [the cowards are scared] dubula dubula [shoot shoot]". The ANC believed that, had its input been sought, the court would have reached a different conclusion. Earlier this month, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe cautioned against "systematically erasing history", and said the interpretation of the song had been "vulgarised". "It's an old struggle song. Anybody who relegates it into hate speech today ... I will regard that as a serious attempt to erase our history. If you try to erase the history through courts, that would be unfortunate to the country."
Complaints have recently been laid against ANC Youth League president Julius Malema with the Equality Court and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over his repeated singing of the song in public. The Freedom Front Plus viewed the ANC's contention that the words be seen in the struggle context as "totally unacceptable". "Mr Malema was nine-years-old when [former president Nelson] Mandela was freed. He was never really part of the 'struggle'. If he sang the song today, it has to be judged in the context of 2010 and the fact that farmers are being killed weekly," the party said in a statement.
The Afrikanerbond now wants the SAHRC to decide whether the song constitutes incitement to violence and hate speech. Its chief secretary Jan Bosman said it hoped the ruling was "a first step in forcing politicians to think about pronouncements that create the potential for conflict".
Source: Mail & Guardian
Saturday, March 20, 2010
ANC fears for Malema's life
The ANC said on Friday it believes the Freedom Front Plus's campaign against its youth league leader Julius Malema could lead to his assassination. "As the ANC, we draw the conclusion that it (the campaign) is meant to incite, instigate and mobilise some people to harm and even lead to the execution of the ANCYL president," said ANC spokesman Ishmael Mnisi in a statement. "The campaign is meant to incite the South African populace, particularly the Afrikaner community, against the president of the youth league."
The ANC said the FF Plus was putting Malema's "personal safety and security" in danger, especially considering that "right-wing elements" had been responsible for killing SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani in the early 1990s. "The ANC would not like a repeat of what happened to Chris Hani to happen to Julius Malema," said another ANC spokesman, Jackson Mthembu.
Meanwhile, Ernst Roets, national chairman of AfriForum Youth, a human rights organisation, said members of the ANCYL yesterday scattered a list of names of more than 1 600 victims of farm murders, handed to them by AfriForum Youth, in the street in front of their offices in Luthuli House, central Joburg, trampled on them and tore them up. AfriForum has drawn up a list of farm murders to show that Malema's recent singing of "shoot the boer" could have consequences. Malema sang it at his birthday celebration in Polokwane and at a student gathering in Joburg earlier this month. Roets said Malema had also threatened AfriForum Youth with death, saying they would be the next "Shell House massacre" - referring to the killing of 19 members of the IFP on March 28, 1994, who were shot while protesting outside the ANC's former Joburg offices.
Roets said he met Malema yesterday afternoon to finalise the logistical details of a protest action outside Luthuli House. During the discussion, Malema had said he would shoot at AfriForum Youth if the march went ahead. Instead, Roets said, a small number of representatives, comprising himself, Kallie Kriel, Steve Hofmeyr, Gerrie Pretorius and Sean Else, went to Luthuli House with the memorandum. "It is extremely perturbing that they actually trod on the names of the murder victims. It might just as well have been Robert Mugabe meeting us today..." Roets added.
Meanwhile, the FF Plus launched a Prosecute Malema campaign on Thursday, according to its parliamentary spokesman Anton Alberts. The campaign consists of the gathering of signatures via e-mail and through a website, where a protest letter can be signed. These will be presented to President Jacob Zuma. FF Plus chief whip Corne Mulder said it was ironic that the ANC had laid a charge against the party's campaign because they were worried about Malema's safety. "It shows no real understanding for the thousands of farmers who have been murdered."
SA Human Rights Commission chairman Lawrence Mushwana told the Saturday Star this week that the commission had not yet taken a decision regarding the complaints. He said he was compelled to await the outcome of the Equality Court case against Malema, brought last week by the Afrikanerbond. But constitutional expert Pierre de Vos, from the University of Cape Town, said the commission could continue with its own investigation and could even make pronouncements based on past precedents, like its pronouncement as hate speech three years ago against former ANCYL leader Peter Mokaba's chant "kill the farmer, kill the boer".
Source: IoL
Also see:
'Kill the Boer' slogan led to murders
Parties unite against Mokaba 'hate speech'
Mbeki speaks out against 'kill boer' slogan
Farmers hail Mbeki's 'kill the boer' stance
The ANC said the FF Plus was putting Malema's "personal safety and security" in danger, especially considering that "right-wing elements" had been responsible for killing SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani in the early 1990s. "The ANC would not like a repeat of what happened to Chris Hani to happen to Julius Malema," said another ANC spokesman, Jackson Mthembu.
Meanwhile, Ernst Roets, national chairman of AfriForum Youth, a human rights organisation, said members of the ANCYL yesterday scattered a list of names of more than 1 600 victims of farm murders, handed to them by AfriForum Youth, in the street in front of their offices in Luthuli House, central Joburg, trampled on them and tore them up. AfriForum has drawn up a list of farm murders to show that Malema's recent singing of "shoot the boer" could have consequences. Malema sang it at his birthday celebration in Polokwane and at a student gathering in Joburg earlier this month. Roets said Malema had also threatened AfriForum Youth with death, saying they would be the next "Shell House massacre" - referring to the killing of 19 members of the IFP on March 28, 1994, who were shot while protesting outside the ANC's former Joburg offices.
Roets said he met Malema yesterday afternoon to finalise the logistical details of a protest action outside Luthuli House. During the discussion, Malema had said he would shoot at AfriForum Youth if the march went ahead. Instead, Roets said, a small number of representatives, comprising himself, Kallie Kriel, Steve Hofmeyr, Gerrie Pretorius and Sean Else, went to Luthuli House with the memorandum. "It is extremely perturbing that they actually trod on the names of the murder victims. It might just as well have been Robert Mugabe meeting us today..." Roets added.
Meanwhile, the FF Plus launched a Prosecute Malema campaign on Thursday, according to its parliamentary spokesman Anton Alberts. The campaign consists of the gathering of signatures via e-mail and through a website, where a protest letter can be signed. These will be presented to President Jacob Zuma. FF Plus chief whip Corne Mulder said it was ironic that the ANC had laid a charge against the party's campaign because they were worried about Malema's safety. "It shows no real understanding for the thousands of farmers who have been murdered."
SA Human Rights Commission chairman Lawrence Mushwana told the Saturday Star this week that the commission had not yet taken a decision regarding the complaints. He said he was compelled to await the outcome of the Equality Court case against Malema, brought last week by the Afrikanerbond. But constitutional expert Pierre de Vos, from the University of Cape Town, said the commission could continue with its own investigation and could even make pronouncements based on past precedents, like its pronouncement as hate speech three years ago against former ANCYL leader Peter Mokaba's chant "kill the farmer, kill the boer".
Source: IoL
Also see:
'Kill the Boer' slogan led to murders
Parties unite against Mokaba 'hate speech'
Mbeki speaks out against 'kill boer' slogan
Farmers hail Mbeki's 'kill the boer' stance
Monday, March 15, 2010
Malema blamed for farm attack
The accusations follow a farm attack in Colenso, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, on Sunday night during which a farmer was seriously wounded while his wife was shot dead. “Four men have been detained and they will be questioned by members of the Organised Crime Unit. They have not been charged,” said Superintendent Jay Naicker. The farmer, 70, was shot twice but he survived and was hospitalised, said Naicker. The farmer’s wife was shot dead. “The farmer was busy milking cows with his employees when they were approached by four armed men who demanded cash. The wife, 64, was shot dead and he was shot twice but he survived,” he said Naicker said the attackers did not take anything from the farmer and that the members of the Organised Crime Unit were investigating matter.
Malema sang the highly controversial “dubula ibhunu” (kill the boer) song while addressing students at the University of Johannesburg last week.
AfriForum Youth have lodged a complaint of hate speech against Malema in the Equality Court over the singing of the "kill the boer" song while the Freedom Front Plus has laid a criminal charge of intimidation and hate speech against Malema.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal has commended the police for arresting the suspects. “It is our belief that this senseless attack was incited by the proliferation of hate speech that is the hall mark of ANCYL president Julius Malema,” said DA spokesman on safety, Sizwe Mchunu.
He said Malema’s song “dubula ibhunu” (kill the boer) translated directly to a call for white people to be killed. “There can be no place in our democratic country for provocative language of this kind,” he said. Mchunu said co-operation between the police and the members of Estcourt farmers’ association and local community members had led to the swift arrest. “That the suspects have been arrested, less than 24 hours after the crime, shows what can happen when a community forms a united front against crime.”
This is the third attack on farmers in one weekend. On Saturday night, a 46-year-old farmer was shot through his bedroom window while sleeping on his Rietfontein farm near Potchefstroom, the North West police said. The man was taken to Potchefstroom Provincial Hospital in a critical condition while police search for those involved. On Friday, 65-year-old Jan Wheeler was murdered outside Marble Hall in Limpopo. His killers gained access into the farmer's house by breaking the back door, Limpopo police said. They overpowered Wheeler in the bedroom and repeatedly stabbed him with a sharp object. The men took a few electrical household appliances and ran away.
The DA member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Tom Stokes, said he believed the issue of farm killings was aggravated by [Malema’s] singing of struggle songs that advocated the killing of farmers. He was referring to Malema singing “kill the boer” song last week at a meeting while addressing students at the University of Johannesburg. This caused an uproar as some people viewed it as advocating the killing of farmers. “Malema’s actions, along with subsequent attempts by the ANC’s Gwede Mantashe to justify his conduct, stand in stark contrast to the pain and suffering being experienced by this family and the many others before them,” said Stokes.
Stokes' view was supported by Advocate Anton Alberts of the Freedom Front Plus who said, as an influential youth leader, Malema created an atmosphere in which “reckless thoughts and actions flourished”. “No deep thoughts are needed to realise that Malema’s comments are creating an atmosphere which is conducive for those who want to commit murder... he is an accessory to the wiping out of farmers in South Africa.”
The argument by the ANC that the song was merely a preservation of struggle literature, rang hollow in the face of a family that had lost a wife, mother and grandmother, said Stokes, referring to Sunday night’s farm murder in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Freedom Front Plus was in the meantime preparing a report on farm murders and Malema’s role in it. This will be given to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We will also investigate the possibility to lay charges against Malema at the International Criminal Court, or in the least make the court aware of a growing phenomenon of the victimisation of minorities and specifically the Afrikaner in South Africa,” said Alberts. This, he said, could escalate to international crimes.
Source: Times Live
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Malema under fire for 'kill the boer' song
ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema is facing a barrage of complaints to the police and chapter nine institutions over his latest racial outburst, after he led students in singing "kill the boer". Freedom Front Plus leader and Deputy Agriculture Minister Pieter Mulder will on Wednesday lodge a hate speech complaint against Malema at the Brooklyn police station, Pretoria.
Mulder said the use of the slogan was a contravention of section 16 of the Constitution. "Freedom of speech does not include the advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and which constitutes incitement to cause harm and has in any case been declared as hate speech by the courts."
Malema, according to the Sowetan, led students at the University of Johannesburg in a song saying: "Shoot the boere [farmers], they are rapists". He told students that former president Nelson Mandela had convinced blacks to forgive, but they should never forget what was done to them. AfriForum Youth national chairman Ernst Roets said the organisation would submit a complaint to the Equality Court in Johannesburg. Roets said it was not the first time Malema sang the song reminiscent of the late Peter Mokaba.
He sang it at his birthday celebrations in Polokwane last week, in a province where six farmers were murdered in the past month, Roets said. "Julius Malema has become the biggest embarrassment of not only the youth, but also of the country. "There is no way in which you can dismiss the song as something that simply has to be viewed in a political context and that doesn't have any real consequences," he said.
The Afrikanerbond lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). "It is clear that neither the ANCYL or the ANC have the political will or power to reign in Mr Malema and his daily tirades against everything we hold dear in South Africa," it said in a statement. "We trust that the Human Rights Commission will act in a manner which will restore our faith in this institution as well as in the promotion of human rights." In the complaint, Afrikanerbond chief secretary Jan Bosman said there were about 750 to 850 attacks on farms each year, adding that last year alone 120 people were murdered on farms. "Incitement to violence is a serious offence and with the current problem with rural safety we simply do not need a politician such as Mr Malema to exacerbate the problem," he said.
In 2007, the slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was defined as hate speech by the commission. The FF Plus lodged a complaint with the SAHRC after ANC members used the slogan during two public meetings in 2006. Initially, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. However, the party successfully appealed against the finding.
Theunis Botha, acting chair of the Christian Democratic Alliance, said Malema's comments could not be ignored and dismissed as a joke. "By the ANC not denouncing statements made by Malema, the joker has now effectively countered one of the rare occasions on which farm murders are condemned by the Minister of Police [Nathi Mthethwa]. "While the slaughtering of farmers continues, we are again back to square one as far as the government's attitude to these farm murders are concerned."
Mthethwa on Monday said farm murders should not be politicised. He said additional police and efficient tactics would be employed to mitigate farm and rural murders. "Surely, if Mthethwa calls on politicians not to make politics of farm murders, the same should apply to ANC office bearers, such as Malema. "By not banning Malema from the ANC, which is apparently, the only way to cut him to size, the country is done a great disservice," Botha said.
The ANC on Wednesday said it had not yet decided whether it would talk to Malema about his comments.
Source: IoL
Mulder said the use of the slogan was a contravention of section 16 of the Constitution. "Freedom of speech does not include the advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and which constitutes incitement to cause harm and has in any case been declared as hate speech by the courts."
Malema, according to the Sowetan, led students at the University of Johannesburg in a song saying: "Shoot the boere [farmers], they are rapists". He told students that former president Nelson Mandela had convinced blacks to forgive, but they should never forget what was done to them. AfriForum Youth national chairman Ernst Roets said the organisation would submit a complaint to the Equality Court in Johannesburg. Roets said it was not the first time Malema sang the song reminiscent of the late Peter Mokaba.
He sang it at his birthday celebrations in Polokwane last week, in a province where six farmers were murdered in the past month, Roets said. "Julius Malema has become the biggest embarrassment of not only the youth, but also of the country. "There is no way in which you can dismiss the song as something that simply has to be viewed in a political context and that doesn't have any real consequences," he said.
The Afrikanerbond lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). "It is clear that neither the ANCYL or the ANC have the political will or power to reign in Mr Malema and his daily tirades against everything we hold dear in South Africa," it said in a statement. "We trust that the Human Rights Commission will act in a manner which will restore our faith in this institution as well as in the promotion of human rights." In the complaint, Afrikanerbond chief secretary Jan Bosman said there were about 750 to 850 attacks on farms each year, adding that last year alone 120 people were murdered on farms. "Incitement to violence is a serious offence and with the current problem with rural safety we simply do not need a politician such as Mr Malema to exacerbate the problem," he said.
In 2007, the slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was defined as hate speech by the commission. The FF Plus lodged a complaint with the SAHRC after ANC members used the slogan during two public meetings in 2006. Initially, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. However, the party successfully appealed against the finding.
Theunis Botha, acting chair of the Christian Democratic Alliance, said Malema's comments could not be ignored and dismissed as a joke. "By the ANC not denouncing statements made by Malema, the joker has now effectively countered one of the rare occasions on which farm murders are condemned by the Minister of Police [Nathi Mthethwa]. "While the slaughtering of farmers continues, we are again back to square one as far as the government's attitude to these farm murders are concerned."
Mthethwa on Monday said farm murders should not be politicised. He said additional police and efficient tactics would be employed to mitigate farm and rural murders. "Surely, if Mthethwa calls on politicians not to make politics of farm murders, the same should apply to ANC office bearers, such as Malema. "By not banning Malema from the ANC, which is apparently, the only way to cut him to size, the country is done a great disservice," Botha said.
The ANC on Wednesday said it had not yet decided whether it would talk to Malema about his comments.
Source: IoL
Monday, February 23, 2009
Julius Malema is not a true leader
"Julius Malema is no true leader. He is only a dangerous rabble rouser and spreader of hate. This is the easiest type of politics. To bad-mouth opponents and call them cockroaches and snakes, anyone can do. In the short term one is popular but in the longer run your followers realize that you are not making any real contribution to solutions", Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus leader said in reaction to the attacks of Malema on opposition parties.
The most difficult is to, with wisdom, give leadership to your followers. It may make you unpopular in the short term, but in the longer term you are proven to be correct and you rise as a true leader. This is the kind of leadership which Nelson Mandela had illustrated. Malema believes that ANC leaders have a history of controversy and tries to copy it on an amateurish level. As examples he however does not take Nelson Mandela, but Peter Mokaba with his "Kill the Boer" slogan and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who wanted to free everyone with matches. Just like his role models, only the best is good enough for Malema. In the midst of his follower's poverty, he drives around with a Mercedes Benz E-class and lives in the rich man's area of Sandton.
South Africa can not afford to get stuck with this kind of leader and politics. A million Tutsi's were murdered in 1994 in genocide in Rwanda. That was preceded by hate speech in which Tutsi's were described as cockroaches which had to be eradicated.
If discipline disappears out of schools and society, then an individual such as Julius Malema becomes a youth leader. As youth leader he was elected at an ANC youth conference where poor behavior, alcohol abuse, indecent exposure and damage to property were the characteristics of the conference. In a disciplined society such as Japan or China, such a conference would have concentrated on the future of the country and Malema's kind of rhetoric would not even have been seen.
In order to prevent Malema from ever becoming president of this country, the ANC has to end in the opposition seats. No opposition party can succeed with this on its own. A coalition of opposition parties can succeed with this. That is why every voter has to go and vote for the party closest to its values. After the election, truly responsible leaders work together to accomplish this.
Source: Polity
The most difficult is to, with wisdom, give leadership to your followers. It may make you unpopular in the short term, but in the longer term you are proven to be correct and you rise as a true leader. This is the kind of leadership which Nelson Mandela had illustrated. Malema believes that ANC leaders have a history of controversy and tries to copy it on an amateurish level. As examples he however does not take Nelson Mandela, but Peter Mokaba with his "Kill the Boer" slogan and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who wanted to free everyone with matches. Just like his role models, only the best is good enough for Malema. In the midst of his follower's poverty, he drives around with a Mercedes Benz E-class and lives in the rich man's area of Sandton.
South Africa can not afford to get stuck with this kind of leader and politics. A million Tutsi's were murdered in 1994 in genocide in Rwanda. That was preceded by hate speech in which Tutsi's were described as cockroaches which had to be eradicated.
If discipline disappears out of schools and society, then an individual such as Julius Malema becomes a youth leader. As youth leader he was elected at an ANC youth conference where poor behavior, alcohol abuse, indecent exposure and damage to property were the characteristics of the conference. In a disciplined society such as Japan or China, such a conference would have concentrated on the future of the country and Malema's kind of rhetoric would not even have been seen.
In order to prevent Malema from ever becoming president of this country, the ANC has to end in the opposition seats. No opposition party can succeed with this on its own. A coalition of opposition parties can succeed with this. That is why every voter has to go and vote for the party closest to its values. After the election, truly responsible leaders work together to accomplish this.
Source: Polity
Friday, October 21, 2005
FF charges unions with hate speech
The Freedom Front Plus has laid charges with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the police against Nehawu, Cosatu and the ANC for hate speech.
The charges were laid following chants of "kill the boer, kill the farmer" by protesters at the Potchefstroom Agricultural College while pointing to white students recently, FF Plus Northwest provincial leader, Pieter Groenewald said.
"This slogan has already been declared hate speech by the HRC and these actions are therefore a transgression," he said.
Source: IoL
The charges were laid following chants of "kill the boer, kill the farmer" by protesters at the Potchefstroom Agricultural College while pointing to white students recently, FF Plus Northwest provincial leader, Pieter Groenewald said.
"This slogan has already been declared hate speech by the HRC and these actions are therefore a transgression," he said.
Source: IoL
Friday, March 12, 2004
'We're not sorry for kill the boer slogan'
It's a slogan that the Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) called hate speech last year and it has resurfaced in the flurry of party propaganda in the run-up to the elections. Earlier this year, the Freedom Front Plus lodged a complaint against Mangaliso Kubheka, national organiser of the Landless People's Movement, claiming he had said "kill the farmer, kill the boer" during a speech.
The SAHRC investigated the complaint and ruled that the LPM apologise publicly via the newspaper Rapport, which had reported on the offending speech. They have until March 23 to respond. However, a defiant Mangaliso Kubheka told Saturday Star that the party would not apologise. "We have nothing to apologise for. The Freedom Front Plus is not a friend or a relative. Maybe the HRC should apologise for talking about things I do not know about."
Kubheka said he did not think the "kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan constituted hate speech. "We are talking about a party that is calling for the death penalty. Can they tell you who the slogan was directed at anyway? If they say it's hate speech then they must say who it is directed at," Kubheka said. Leon Louw, spokesperson for the Freedom Front plus, said the party was considering suing the LPM. "We are waiting until the cut-off date and if there has not been a response by then, we will definitely take further steps."
Mogam Moodliar, head of legal services at the SAHRC, said their recommendation was that the LPM must apologise for the comments but should that not happen, the commission had brainstormed various responses. "We could mediate, ask the party if they really meant it, or the Freedom Front Plus could take the issue to the Equality Court."
Last June, the Freedom Front Plus lodged a complaint with the SAHRC after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings, one of which was the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in 2002. On appeal, the SAHRC said the killing of a group of people was an "advocacy of hatred" that amounted to harm.
But Moodliar said this pronouncement did not result in any legal precedent. "It does not mean that every utterance is hate speech. We need to look at whether there was harm caused or intention to cause harm," he said.
Source: IoL
The SAHRC investigated the complaint and ruled that the LPM apologise publicly via the newspaper Rapport, which had reported on the offending speech. They have until March 23 to respond. However, a defiant Mangaliso Kubheka told Saturday Star that the party would not apologise. "We have nothing to apologise for. The Freedom Front Plus is not a friend or a relative. Maybe the HRC should apologise for talking about things I do not know about."
Kubheka said he did not think the "kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan constituted hate speech. "We are talking about a party that is calling for the death penalty. Can they tell you who the slogan was directed at anyway? If they say it's hate speech then they must say who it is directed at," Kubheka said. Leon Louw, spokesperson for the Freedom Front plus, said the party was considering suing the LPM. "We are waiting until the cut-off date and if there has not been a response by then, we will definitely take further steps."
Mogam Moodliar, head of legal services at the SAHRC, said their recommendation was that the LPM must apologise for the comments but should that not happen, the commission had brainstormed various responses. "We could mediate, ask the party if they really meant it, or the Freedom Front Plus could take the issue to the Equality Court."
Last June, the Freedom Front Plus lodged a complaint with the SAHRC after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings, one of which was the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in 2002. On appeal, the SAHRC said the killing of a group of people was an "advocacy of hatred" that amounted to harm.
But Moodliar said this pronouncement did not result in any legal precedent. "It does not mean that every utterance is hate speech. We need to look at whether there was harm caused or intention to cause harm," he said.
Source: IoL
Friday, July 18, 2003
HRC says 'kill boer' slogan is hate speech
It's official. The slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" is hate speech, according to a finding of an appeal tribunal of the South African Human Rights Commission. Thursday's finding came after a complaint from the Freedom Front (FF) about the use of the slogan - and an appeal against an earlier commission finding that the phrase was not hate speech. "Even though we had to struggle for three years, we welcome the finding. Finally they came to the right conclusion," said FF leader Pieter Mulder.
Declaring the slogan to be hate speech was a first step in the right direction to stop farm killings, Mulder said. "The first finding had double standards because it meant racism was only wrong when it was by whites to blacks, but now we know that it is also wrong for blacks to be racist against whites," said Mulder.
The party lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings in June last year. One was at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in Polokwane, and the other at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley. Earlier this year, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. The Freedom Front appealed against the finding. "The slogan 'kill the farmer, kill the boer' as chanted at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley and at Mokaba's funeral is hate speech as defined in Section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution," said commissioner Karthy Govender.
He said freedom of expression was a fundamental right in democracy but by the same token South African courts were clear that the freedom of expression was not a supreme right as in the United States constitution. "We have concluded that the calling for the killing of a group of people is an advocacy of hatred, which must amount to harm," he said.
Simon Kimane, of the Freedom of Expression Institute, expressed disappointment with the finding. "There is no causal connection between the slogan and any actual killings of Afrikaners in this country," he said. He said the institution's submission had pleaded for the right of freedom of expression for the young South African democracy, and that the institution feared that the finding might set a bad precedent.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was never an adopted slogan of his party. "The ANC will discourage people from using the slogan," he said.
Source: IoL
Declaring the slogan to be hate speech was a first step in the right direction to stop farm killings, Mulder said. "The first finding had double standards because it meant racism was only wrong when it was by whites to blacks, but now we know that it is also wrong for blacks to be racist against whites," said Mulder.
The party lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg after African National Congress members used the slogan during two public meetings in June last year. One was at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba in Polokwane, and the other at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley. Earlier this year, the commission said the slogan did not constitute hate speech, but was an instance, although an undesirable one, of the right to freedom of expression. The Freedom Front appealed against the finding. "The slogan 'kill the farmer, kill the boer' as chanted at an ANC youth rally in Kimberley and at Mokaba's funeral is hate speech as defined in Section 16(2)(c) of the Constitution," said commissioner Karthy Govender.
He said freedom of expression was a fundamental right in democracy but by the same token South African courts were clear that the freedom of expression was not a supreme right as in the United States constitution. "We have concluded that the calling for the killing of a group of people is an advocacy of hatred, which must amount to harm," he said.
Simon Kimane, of the Freedom of Expression Institute, expressed disappointment with the finding. "There is no causal connection between the slogan and any actual killings of Afrikaners in this country," he said. He said the institution's submission had pleaded for the right of freedom of expression for the young South African democracy, and that the institution feared that the finding might set a bad precedent.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said "kill the farmer, kill the boer" was never an adopted slogan of his party. "The ANC will discourage people from using the slogan," he said.
Source: IoL
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
'Kill the boer' comes back to haunt ANC
The Freedom Front (FF) on Sunday vowed to a lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission against the African National Congress after incidents of alleged hate speech at the funeral of ANC MP Peter Mokaba on Saturday.
FF leader Pieter Mulder said in a statement if his party received no joy from the commission, then it would consider other legal options. Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism. He said while the crowd attending Mokaba's funeral on Saturday in Pietersburg chanted the slogan "Kill the farmer, kill the boer", a KwaZulu-Natal farmer and his wife were murdered.
Mulder said it was the responsibility of political leaders to educate their followers and to discipline them if their conduct promoted hate speech and racism. He said no funeral of a farmer had even been politicised. "What will be the reaction of ANC leaders if farmers start chanting 'Kill the Xhosas, Kill the black man' during the funerals of the Dent couple?" he asked.
If the SAHRC failed to condemn the slogan as hate speech, the Freedom Front would follow a legal path to get clarity on the issue. Mulder said the constitution was clear on its definition of hate speech. Clarity on what constituted hate speech was needed in view of the song by Mbongeni Ngema urging "valiant, strong, black men" to stand up to Indians, as well as Saturday's repetition of the "Kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan. "It does not help that leaders talk about reconciliation, but do the opposite," said Mulder.
Source: IoL
FF leader Pieter Mulder said in a statement if his party received no joy from the commission, then it would consider other legal options. Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism. He said while the crowd attending Mokaba's funeral on Saturday in Pietersburg chanted the slogan "Kill the farmer, kill the boer", a KwaZulu-Natal farmer and his wife were murdered.
Mulder said it was the responsibility of political leaders to educate their followers and to discipline them if their conduct promoted hate speech and racism. He said no funeral of a farmer had even been politicised. "What will be the reaction of ANC leaders if farmers start chanting 'Kill the Xhosas, Kill the black man' during the funerals of the Dent couple?" he asked.
If the SAHRC failed to condemn the slogan as hate speech, the Freedom Front would follow a legal path to get clarity on the issue. Mulder said the constitution was clear on its definition of hate speech. Clarity on what constituted hate speech was needed in view of the song by Mbongeni Ngema urging "valiant, strong, black men" to stand up to Indians, as well as Saturday's repetition of the "Kill the farmer, kill the boer" slogan. "It does not help that leaders talk about reconciliation, but do the opposite," said Mulder.
Source: IoL
Monday, June 17, 2002
Parties unite against Mokaba 'hate speech'
Three political parties have expressed concern and outrage about the use of the slogan "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer" at the funeral of African National Congress MP Peter Mokaba. The Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (AEB) added its voice on Sunday night to the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front (FF), objecting to the use of the slogan and condemning it as hate speech.
AEB leader Cassie Aucamp said his party would refer the use of the slogan to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). He said the slogan, which was made popular by Mokaba, had previously been referred to the commission for a decision on whether it was hate speech or not. At the time the commission found that it was not hate speech if seen against the political background of that era. Aucamp said the commission would have to answer the question if the slogan, seen in the current political context, was still not hate speech. He said what worried him even more was the fact that President Thabo Mbeki had been present at the funeral where the slogan was chanted and apparently did nothing to stop it. He said the AEB would also raise the subject in parliament during Mbeki's budget vote this week.
The FF also vowed to a lay a complaint with the SAHRC against the ANC. FF leader Pieter Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism.
In his reaction, DA leader Tony Leon sharply criticised the government's failure to react. Leon said farmers were being murdered at a terrible rate - last year alone more than 900 farms were attacked and 140 farmers murdered - and the government had done nothing to stop it.
Source: IoL
AEB leader Cassie Aucamp said his party would refer the use of the slogan to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). He said the slogan, which was made popular by Mokaba, had previously been referred to the commission for a decision on whether it was hate speech or not. At the time the commission found that it was not hate speech if seen against the political background of that era. Aucamp said the commission would have to answer the question if the slogan, seen in the current political context, was still not hate speech. He said what worried him even more was the fact that President Thabo Mbeki had been present at the funeral where the slogan was chanted and apparently did nothing to stop it. He said the AEB would also raise the subject in parliament during Mbeki's budget vote this week.
The FF also vowed to a lay a complaint with the SAHRC against the ANC. FF leader Pieter Mulder accused the ANC's leadership of double standards when it came to condemning racism.
In his reaction, DA leader Tony Leon sharply criticised the government's failure to react. Leon said farmers were being murdered at a terrible rate - last year alone more than 900 farms were attacked and 140 farmers murdered - and the government had done nothing to stop it.
Source: IoL
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